BMcEL

Assembled a headlight relay harness today. I drafted up a quick (don't laugh) schematic and got to work:



All cable is 12awg THHN except for the H4 pigtails...they're 12awg stranded but not THHN rated. I should have taken pics of the process but when I'm in go mode I just go. Here's the final product:



(2) 30A relays
(2) Female H4 pigtails
12awg THHN
Ring terminals for the battery connections
Butt connectors for the H4 pigtails
Male spade terminals for the factory H4 connector
Female spade terminals for the relays
1/2" wire loom
Electrical tape to wrap the loom

If you want to go all out, you could use a male H4 pigtail instead of male spades to plug into the factory H4 connector and relay pigtails instead of female spades to plug into the relays.

I ended up running a dedicated ground back to the battery (zip-tied to the loom every 6") afterwards. I figured with this much effort I might as well run the extra cable. Copper conducts better than steel and I didn't want ANY weak links.

Went for a quick drive tonight but I need to re-aim the housings. Even with the beams all over the place it's amazing how much brighter good halogens are vs. HIDs in halogen housings. One of these days I'll install a projector retrofit like this and go back to HIDs but for now halogen is fine. 55w/100w bulbs by the way.

cruiserjim

where is the relay located?

BMcEL

There are two:

jeronimo

Looks good. Does the hi-beam indicator light work with your new harness?

BMcEL

Sure does.

jeronimo

Good to hear. I've been messing with my own headlight relay harness, without success. Will try to reconfigure to your schematic when time permits(working 12hr days next 3wks!). Maybe I was drinking the wrong kind of beer when I put mine together?

shaeff

:highfive:

Kudos to you for not getting sucked in to the "HIDs are always better" crowd. And if you came FROM a PnP HID kit TO rewired halogens, then I'd buy you a beer. PnP HID in ANY halogen housing = crap. Glad you realized it and "saw the light."

BMcEL

If you weren't about 3000 miles away I'd see your beer and raise ya 5!

That's exactly what I did was go from an HID kit to rewired halogens. The bulbs are just cheap no-name halogens that I plan on running until I know they won't melt the housings. Then the Autopals and better bulbs will go in.

The HIDs were really bright on dry pavement but as soon as the road got wet I couldn't see crap. On top of the nonexistent pattern (just light on crack) and the glare to oncoming drivers, I'd had enough.

xxxtreme22r

What size bulb was your HID kit? My 5,000K hids in the BMW do pretty good even on wet pavement, but then again, they are in projector housings.

BMcEL

Size was H4, color temp was 6000k. The higher in Kelvin ya go, the more the light refracts and bounces off things instead of being absorbed and illuminating them. I started with 10000k capsules and that was simply dangerous at night on wet pavement...couldn't see a damn thing. The 6000ks weren't as bad but as Shaeff said, any HID kit in halogen reflector housings are crap.

I've heard great things about the real projector retrofit kits like this though:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...2f204f7a13c9bf

xxxtreme22r

Yeah those are good too, but I hate the look of the retrofits in these 6054 housings.

BMcEL

Agreed...that's kind of why I decided to go back to halogen instead of messing with the retrofit.

I would like to experiment with some small fog/driving lights and cut the smaller retrofit into them. Or just get the fog light kit here with 3000k capsules. Minimal clutter up front and projected HID on-demand to back up the high-watt halogens. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

xxxtreme22r

I've been considering putting 3K HIDs into the fog lights in the BMW as well. I already converted those over to Projectors as well, but it's almost like you can't see them on.

BMcEL

Ya it seems like the lower they're mounted, the less effective they are. I have (2) small fog lights mounted real low and they're useless for anything but DRLs. Old pic but it's the only one I have of them:

xxxtreme22r

I've always wanted to turn my bumper signals into fog lights. Haven't gotten around to it yet though. But I already have the signals in the corners already so I am good to go there.

BMcEL

I've considered that a few times but I'm always afraid the housings will melt. Let me know how it works if you end up trying it!

I actually converted the sockets in the turn signals to 1157s and made the turns double as running lights...got tired of that look though. Still need to move the turns into the corners.

Rollz79

You went to Thurston high school? I have the projector housings. I think they would be better if there was something around the projector and the bulb. I had HID's didn't have a problem in the rain. I think if i was to use a different housing they would be better.

BMcEL

I did...how'd you know? And the projectors you're describing (and in my pic above) are NOT real projectors. They are fake and do absolutely nothing.


The issue described above multiplies in heavy rain or when the road is wet and it's snowing. You could have the nicest reflector housings on the market but HIDs were never meant to be put in halogen reflector housings...the light bounces everywhere hence the lack of a focused beam and excessive glare to oncoming traffic. They work, but compared to a true projector setup they are junk. Even compared to a good halogen setup they are junk.

xxxtreme22r

Projector or no projector 10k and above HIDs even most 8k hids are gonna be jun in wet conditions. There is a reason most states have banned bluish tinged lights.

BMcEL

I've seen 8000ks in OEM Audi projectors in wet conditions and they're ok, at best, but it's a totally different kind of light. The blue hue from high-kelvin HIDs (not even gonna comment on anything above 10000k) drains out most colors at night and leaves you in an almost 'blue & white" world. Not only does it increase strain on your eyes but there are studies that prove the human brain's response time and reactions are altered in this subconsciously unfamiliar environment.

Don't get me wrong, it doesn't get much better than a good 4300k (OEM in pretty much every vehicle with HIDs) projected HID setup. 4300k is about the color equivalent of sunlight at noon on a clear day. The reason you see the color 'changing' on OEM setups is because you are seeing the edge of the projector cutoff:



I could go on and on about this but I won't. To sum it up, if you don't do your research on HIDs and do it right, save your money and fellow drivers' eyes and get some good halogens and a headlight relay harness.